Kirinyaga governor Anne Waiguru has joined UDA after meeting with Deputy President William Ruto at his official Karen Residence.
Waiguru was accompanied by a host of MCAs from her county.
The governor had recently indicated that she could ditch President Uhuru Kenyatta’s camp and formally join Ruto’s “hustler nation movement”.
A month ago the former Devolution Cabinet Secretary who has had an on and off frosty relationship with the DP had said she will “ listen and do extensive consultations” with the electorates before making on the way forward as far as the August 2022 general election is concerned.
“I can not try to be ignorant and go against my people. I can’t vote myself in, I am listening to what they want. Do they want me to run for governor a second term?” she posed.
Waiguru is a well-known political ally of President Uhuru Kenyatta and their relationship dates back to the time the Head of State worked as Minister for Finance.
Waiguru will now seek to defend his seat on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket in 2022 following his move to jump from the ruling Jubilee party.
But his newfound bromance with the DP comes as a surprise in some quarters considering the two have a not-so-rosy history.
In 2016 for example, Ruto linked Waiguru to businesswoman Josephine Kabura, a key suspect in the reported Sh1.8 billion theft of National Youth Service funds.
The Deputy President said Waiguru was “cat-walking and talking a lot of English (kizungu mingi), in the face of the most audacious theft of public funds, staged by a “hairdresser” (Ms Kabura).
“When a hairdresser registers 20 companies in a day and goes on to be paid close to a billion, which she said she carried in sacks and then someone is cat-walking and talking a lot of Englishes … Give me a break!” he said.
Responding to DP, Waiguru said, “I have no interest in public exchanges with HE the Deputy President or those others speaking in public gatherings, on a matter that is being handled by competent government agencies.”
In December 2019, Waiguru defended Interior CS Fred Matiang’i, from the DP after the latter warned the CS against ridiculing Kenyans while purporting to be speaking for President Uhuru Kenyatta.
“The same way Ruto warned Matiang’i about speaking for Uhuru, he should also warn his people against insulting others. Those insulted will be forced to retaliate. All leaders have been elected to serve by the people of Kenya. The same pinch you feel when insulted is the same pinch someone feels when you insult them,” Waiguru hit back at the DP.
